


A Parasite

by MelonEthylene



Category: Hatfilms, The Yogscast
Genre: Angst, Drabble, M/M, Urban Magic Yogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 14:31:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4183419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelonEthylene/pseuds/MelonEthylene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quick drabble inspired by this post (http://urbanmagicaesthetic.tumblr.com/post/122144780315) and urban magic aesthetic's tags. What if that technomancer was Strife? Though in actuality I don't think it would go this way, it was a fun thing to explore and write. Angst is always fun ;B Probably filled with typos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Parasite

It was in the middle of rush hour during the weekday when Kirin's alarm bells went off. Though "alarm bless" doesn't do the warning blare that suddenly pounded through his head justice. His hackles rose. Something was coming. Something not welcome in his garden. Something that made every fiber of his being recoil. Something made of electricity and metal. Though Kirin could feel it was still more than a block away, the smell of rust and grease clogged his nostrils. His face twisted into a snarl unconsciously and he stared intensely in the direction it was coming from. The mortal in front of him who'd been asking him something about the properties of flowers made a small whimper. The noise snapped Kirin back to the customer and he quickly composed himself, shifting his face to be not quite so...vicious. He also made an only somewhat successful attempt to rein in the feeling of hostility he knew was flowing from his skin like riptides. Great, now he was thinking in ocean metaphors. He was clearly rattled by whoever this newcomer was. In a slightly strained voice and with a very fixed smile on his face he apologized to the human and offered a gift card as compensation. The mortal made a sad little noise and shook its head before excusing itself in a way that made it very clear Kirin had not been able to hide all the feral disgust he was still feeling about whatever blight was making its way closer. Looking around, Kirin saw that the previously busy store was now completely empty. Dammit. He'd really let himself slip there. No doubt it would circulate for a while that there was something "not quite right with that shop keeper" until he could do damage control. Ah well. At least it made it easier to deal with the intruder. An intruder who was now directly outside Kirin's door. The fae lord let himself grow taller, shedding some glamour so that his skin took on a glow that was decidedly not human. He let the image of his horns and eyes shine delicately to the surface, until they were visible enough to be noticed but faint enough to make anyone looking question if it was actually just their imagination. Holding himself high and proud, Kirin positioned himself behind the counter, calling tendrils of plants to coalesce behind him as sort of a protective and (hopefully) menacing wall. The bell tinkled as the door opened. The shock of machine and magic pushing through the barriers of nearly made Kirin wince. It was strong. Damn, it was strong magic. But that shock wasn't anything compared to the jolt he felt at the voice that followed,

"Hey Kirin" it said, somewhat nervous but trying to project a false confidence, "Oh...uh, did I come at a bad time?"

"Strife?" Kirin said, voice strangled.

"Yes?" Strife said, laughing nervously and standing right up against the door, clearly taken aback by the strange reaction of his friend. Kirin opened his mouth to answer, to give some reassurance, probably to fabricate some lie about expecting someone, maybe one of those garbage idiots, Will would buy that. But then he noticed something, and suddenly everything snapped into place with horrifying clarity. It was his eyes. Good god, his eyes. No, Kirin realized in disgust, it wasn't just his eyes. His right arm too, hidden under a long sleeve and half cradled tentatively behind the young sorcerers back. They weren't organic anymore. They weren't human parts. They were machine. Will's arm and his eyes, oh fuck his _eyes_ , were pure machine and magic. They were metal and circuits and unnatural and everything opposite to what Kirin was. He could see the fear in Will's eyes and the fae lord wondered idly what kind of face he was making as he looked over the sorcerer, over the robot. But he couldn't really bring himself to care. As Strife's pupils eyes dilated in fear Kirin swore, he _swore_  he could hear a whir.

"Now, now hold on Kirin" Strife stammered, desperation clear on his face "I have...I have a good reason, I...just listen...I-"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Kirin interrupted in a tightly controlled, quiet voice. He wanted to scream and tear the city apart. He wanted to rip this...thing in front of him apart. After all, it couldn't be real. It couldn't be Will. It must be some cruel joke played on him by one of his enemies. He wanted to puke from the force of his emotions. He could feel how alien and other Strife felt now. His Will. _His_  Will, looking at him now with eyes of circuits and rust. His Will, a blight in the natural sanctuary of his shop. He could feel his own magic struggling to lash out in defense against what it perceived to be a parasite. It took everything he had to keep his own power from wiping Strife out like a mosquito. _HIS_  Strife.

"Get out" He said, putting as much venom and ferocity into his voice as he could. Pain contorted the young sorcerers face. He looked like he wanted to cry. Could he even cry anymore?

"I" he said, voice choked with suffering, a voice that got smaller with each word, just like the man himself, "I thought, I thought you would be proud. I...look...it's, it's my magic...look, see" Kirin couldn't take any more. Any more and he might change his mind, he might take Strife into his arms and promise it would all be ok. He glanced down to the sorcerers finger. The ring was still there, fixed onto Will's still human hand. A ring carved out of Kirin's own horn. Maybe it could be okay...But he looked back into Strife's eyes and the rage and pain and disgust all flooded back. He would never look into his Will's eyes again without seeing the bulldozers that had torn down his forests, torn down his home. He wouldn't be able to look without seeing all the pollution, suffering and death of the technology and circuitry. Having this stuff around him was one thing. Controlling it was one thing. Having it as a part of /his/ sorcerer? That was different. 

"What did I say" Kirin murmured, letting his gaze bore into Will's. Letting himself see Strife flinch in pain.

"I'm...I'm sorry Kirin I-"

"GET OUT" Kirin roared, letting some of the magic and hostility he'd been containing so fiercely lash out at the sorcerer. It was enough to blast the sorcerer into the door, snapping his head against the wood. Strife crumpled to the floor before scrambling up, giving Kirin such a look of betrayal, pain and fear that Kirin felt like the one who'd been hurled into the door. Than he was gone. Kirin could feel him flee down the street, could feel the magic alarm bells stop ringing. Slowly, he let himself collapse to his knees. He gazed at the back of the counter and traced the grain of the wood with his eyes. But he found no comfort in its familiarity. Instead, all he could see were Strife's eyes. It had been a long, long time since he'd felt this human.


End file.
